NEW NAZI FIGHTER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 August 1941, Page 6

NEW NAZI FIGHTER

PROTECTION BY THICK

armour

FUEL LOAD & ARMAMENT

CUT DOWN.

LATEST GERMAN MACHINES

Een Robertson, "PM’s’ London correspondent, has sent a dispatch, based on an article appearing in a recent issue of "The Aeroplane," British aviation weekly, describing one of the new Nazi fighter aeroplanes, writes “Tne General ' in “P.M." Details of the new aeroplane —the Messerschmitt 10.)r are important because they provide an accurate forecast of Nazi tactics in the air. In brief, my suspicion six months ago appears correct that the Nazis would take advantage of the short distance they have .to go and cut down fuel load and armament in favour ol armour so heavy Britisn aircraft guns would be unable to penetrate it. This, in brief, is what Mr Robertson reports: _ The new Messerschmitt 109 F, . now in action over England, is a singleseater, like its better known predecessor. Its wing span has been increased from a little more than 32 to 35 feet by adding curved wing tips .to its former characteristic square wing tips. Its engine is now the Mercedes-Benz DB 601 E, in place of the DB6OIA, and develops 1375 horse-power in place of 1150. It has a special supercharger— Mr Robertson's dispatch does not make clear what kind, but it is probably one of the new style exhaust-driven turbosuperchargers—which enables it to operate at extremely high altitudes, above 30 000 feet. ■ Its top speed is about 380 miles an hour at 21,000 feet. In other words, it develops more speed . than its predecessor and at higher altitude.

ARMAMENT REDUCED. The armament has been reduced from a 20-mm. cannon and four riflecalibre machine-guns to a 20-mm. cannon and only two machine-guns. The armour behind the pilot has been increased in thickness io 18-mm. (about three-quarters of an inch), from the 11-mm. (.44 inch) that has generally been standard since the start of the war. Other changes, such as elimination of the radio mast and an adjustable tail strut, in order to “clean” up the ship and increase its speed, have been made. But the last—the incorporation of unusually heavy armour—is the most important. Reports on other German aeroplanes have not 'yet become available, but the presumption is that they will have similarly heavy armour. The Royal Air Force about a year ago adopted a programme calling for armament, of aeroplanes with .50 calibre machine-guns in place of riflecalibre guns (.30 and .303) because the then standard 11-mm. armour is proof against rifle-calibre bullets. The .50 calibre, it was decided, was heavy enough to do the trick. And so it is. But the Nazis have in the meantime gone over to heavier armour still. Ordinarily, .50 calibre bullets cannot pierce 18-mm. armour under service conditions. The Nazis have very shrewdly taken advantage, in the case of bombers, of their ability to reduce fuel load; in the case of fighters, they are willing to sacrifice gunpower. The Royal Air Force’s reply to such armour—if it does indeed prove to be standard—is difficult. IT means that the chances of effectively hitting the ordinary vital spots of an aeroplane, or the pilot —the targets in most cases —are quite limited. .The Royal Air Force pilot will now have to concentrate on sawing off a control surface, such as the rudder, or a wing, with a tremendous hail of bullets, to down his foe. Of course, the alternative of ramming him is always open. But it is extremely costly. It means a loss of aeroplane for aeroplane, and, almost as frequently, pilot for pilot, for the pilot very nearly always loses his life in a ramming attack. It will be diffi- j

cult to speed production of 20-mm, cannon or larger guns by much in the immediate future,

ARMOUR VERSUS SHELL.

The entire development recalls what happened with French anti-tank guns and German tanks a year ago. At that time, the Nazis waited until France had standardised on a 25-mm. antitank gun, then proceeded to build tanks whose armour was too heavy for 25-mm. shells to pierce. France’s hundreds of anti-tank weapons, when the test finally came, proved useless. It may be asked, in the case of the Me. 109 F, whether the Nazis have not sacrificed too much gun power. They may have. But the Nazis have probably figured it this way: Their escort fighters are not really intended to knock down British fighters. Their real purpose is diversion of British fighters to give Nazi bombers greater freedom to operate. If that is the case, they may figure that more can be accomplished by giving their aeroplanes greater staying power in the air. Another factor entering''into the situation may be that poor morale among pilots, as a result of the great losses of air crews last fall, may have forced the German Air Force to give its men better protection against the deadly multigun bursts of the Royal Air Force. OTHER SIGNIFICANT CHANGES. The other changes in the Messerschmitt 109 F are not without significance either. The rounded wing tips and added span are obviously meant to carry the greater weight of the more powerful engine without increasing wing loading and thereby decreasing manoeuvreability. They are also probably meant to reduce a reported tendency of earlier Messerschmitt single-seaters to suffer from aileron lock. Though few Messerschmitt 109’s actually locked their controls in a dive, it did happen occasionally. The new supercharger is a recognition of the fact that air combat is being forced higher and higher as one pilot literally seeks to get above the other. The rated speed of the Messerschmitt 109 F, 380 miles an hour, makes me feel, however, that it is not the best of the Reich’s new aeroplanes. If it is the best, the Reich’s new aeroplanes cannot be considered quite good enough, unless the Luftwaffe has a sufficient margin over the Royal Air Force to overcome a qualitative inferiority.